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Radio fortunes follow the stars

Peter Trute

The presence or absence of breakfast radio stars Kyle and Jackie O has had a big impact on the latest results of Australia's two biggest commercial radio players.

APN News & Media, which owns the top-rating Australian Radio Network, home of the controversial breakfast duo, posted a 77 per cent boost in half-year profits to $22.6 million on Wednesday.

Rival Southern Cross Austereo, which was home to Kyle and Jackie until the end of 2013, reported a full-year loss of $296 million.

Neither profit result is the full story - APN was boosted by radio acquisitions while Southern Cross was dragged down by impairment losses on its TV business.

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APN's revenue for the six months to June 30 rose 2.9 per cent to $405.9 million, while Southern Cross' dipped 0.3 per cent to $640.8 million.

APN chief executive Michael Miller said the profit result was delivered amid a weak advertising market, with particularly strong earnings from its Australian and New Zealand radio businesses.

"This performance has come form an increase in audience and audience share following our investments in launching Sydney station KIIS 1065 and in marketing the Classic Hits Pure Gold network," he said.

"Although advertising markets remain challenging, APN's second quarter performed better than the first.

"This gives us great confidence in our strategy of investing in talent, brands, digital infrastructure and a more integrated approach."

APN bought full control of ARN and New Zealand's The Radio Network in February.

At Southern Cross, which also announced the departure of chairman Max Moore-Wilton, chief executive Rhys Holleran said the company's results showed its resilience.

Mr Holleran said work was continuing on regenerating Sydney's Today FM following its post-Kyle and Jackie O ratings slump, while the business had refinanced at Christmas and was managing its debt obligations.

"I see this as very much a consolidating period which will lead to a period of greater growth," he said.

"From our perspective the two priorities remain regeneration of Today FM in terms of ratings and making sure we keep an eye on capital management."

Mr Holleran said revenue was expected to fall by five to seven per cent in the first half of 2014/15, compared to the same period a year earlier, due to the impact of election spending in that previous half.

Southern Cross incurred $392.5 million in impairment losses, the majority of which was against goodwill and licence value for its regional television assets.

The company cited lower forecasts for ad revenue growth and "an expected low point of market share" in the Channel Ten advertising market, with no improvement in future years as reasons for the impairments.

Southern Cross is a regional affiliation broadcaster for the Ten Network.